New requirements to receive aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will go into effect in 2025, and a local non-profit expects a bigger strain on services.

Under the recently signed debt ceiling deal, SNAP benefits will apply to those over the age of 54, and be required to work or attend training programs. 

Those with children and a disability will still qualify for aid.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported a total of 143,421 people in the Rio Grande Valley who received SNAP benefits last month.

“We're probably going to have a bigger strain on food banks in the Valley,” Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley Director of grants and government relations Omar I. Rodriguez said, adding that the organization has seen a spike in need in the last year due to the rising cost of living.

“There’s a variety of different variables that we really don't know what's going to happen, but we're bracing for it right now,” Rodriguez added.